1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to stoves and furnaces, and more particularly to portable heating apparatus that include in combination knockdown and separable cooking and warming racks.
2. Description of the Related Art
Humans have several basic needs, including food, water, and a suitable environment. All three of those basic needs become much more difficult to find during winter months in areas outside of the tropics. With that in mind, humanity has found and created various forms of radiant heat, fueled by gas, electricity, wood, coal, and other sources of energy. The radiant heat has been used to warm a living space, food, water and for many other purposes.
Apparatus for producing heat include but are not limited to fires, furnaces, heaters, radiators, stoves, microwaves, ovens, grills, and the like. Many of the structures are large and bulky, and require large amounts of set-up. While this is of less concern with permanent structures such as a residence or home, such apparatus are poorly suited for temporary use and outdoor activities such as ice fishing or camping that would require transporting and setting up the heat apparatus. In such instances, it is far more desirable to have a relatively compact and readily transportable apparatus, such as a camp stove, space heater, recreational fireplace, and the like. Countless examples of such apparatus are found in the prior art.
Since fishermen, campers and other outdoor enthusiasts have to transport gear to and from each temporary location where they will spend time, the size, weight, and number of functions that a single apparatus can reliably perform are each very important. As a result, and whenever possible, any gear or apparatus will desirably serve as many purposes as possible, to decrease the amount of gear necessary to be transported.
One way this may be achieved is by using a heat source such as a campfire or portable heater to also warm or cook food or water. Common apparatus suspend food or a cooking mechanism over or adjacent to a heat source. For less portable devices, pots and pans have been suspended on burners, racks, grills, and the like. One method of cooking has involved using racks or girds over a heat source, such as a stove or in an oven. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,945,245 to Wilson, entitled “Trivet Oven Rack”, discloses an oven rack which is self-supporting on the bottom of an oven. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 2,376,640 to Wall et al, entitled “Combined Oven Tray and Cooking Rack”, discloses a tray for use in an oven. The Wall et al tray has a cooking rack incorporated with it, allowing for cooking on the rack while catching any drippings. The cooking rack has the additional feature of an adjustable portion which forms a “V” shape ideal for roasting a chicken. Though ideal for use in combination with a fixed stove or oven, these apparatus have not been designed to operate with a more lightweight and portable heat source.
For more portable cooking, a different design of rack is necessary. One such example is U.S. Pat. No. 3,416,510 to Paulson, entitled “Camp Stove Toaster”. The camp stove toaster disclosed is a rack which supports a piece of bread for toasting suspended over a cylindrical member which directs the heat from a camp stove to toast the bread. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 7,445,004 to Milner et al., entitled “Campfire Grill Assembly”, is a grill designed for use in combination with a campfire. Another approach to campfire cooking is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 3,067,737 to Brown, entitled “Reflector Oven”, which discloses a rack for cooking next to a campfire, which has radiant heat focused onto it by reflector panels. U.S. Pat. No. 1,999,515 to Muenzer, entitled “Camp Stove”, also discloses a cooking device for combination with a campfire. This device uses the fire as the heat source for a combination stove and garbage disposal system, with grill racks along the top and a portion adjacent to the fire ideal for warming food or baking food, such as potatoes. Another rack is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 2,597,127 to Rahr, entitled “Toaster”. Rahr's toaster focuses heat through a series of slits toward racks, which are angled inward. Such racks hold pieces of bread and provide for even toasting of several pieces of bread at once. While all are effective, they are not ideal in all environments and surroundings. Campfires do not work when there is a higher risk of fire spreading, when there is a potential for there not being available firewood or that the firewood is wet, when in an enclosed shelter, or in other instances.
Other devices have been designed with the intention of making portable heating apparatus dual purpose. One exemplary approach to creating a dual-purpose radiant heat and cooking apparatus is found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,280,813 to Schaenzer, entitled “Space Heater Converter for Cooking Stove”, which illustrates a cover for a typical camp stove. The cover has a “multiplicity of small, spaced apertures or perforations which are designed to disperse the heat of the stove laterally outwardly and more or less uniformly throughout a room, in contrast to the straight-upwardly path followed by the heat normally emitted by the stove.” In other words, the cover converts a typical camp stove into a space heater. While functional, the camp stove can only be used in one function at a time, making it less convenient and less efficient.
A similar concept is found in a combination space heater and grill. U.S. Pat. No. 2,422,450 to Van Daam, entitled “Combined Space Heater and Grill” discloses an electric heater which heats air drawn in through an inlet on the bottom and expels the warm air out a vent along the top edge. The directionality of the vent causes the warm air to move outward across a space in such a manner as to warm an entire room. The heater additionally has a door along the front side which, when opened, pulls the heating element into a horizontal position which allows for its use as a grill. Such an embodiment poses the distinct problem that any food drippings land on the heating element. During later use as a space heater, the odor of the further cooking or burning of the drippings would spread throughout the space being heated. Additionally, such a design limits the structure to one function at a time, decreasing the usefulness of the apparatus.
Additional combination grilling apparatuses and space heaters are illustrated in the patents. One such apparatus is found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,935,809 to Bauer, entitled “Grilling Apparatus Usable as a Space Heating Means”. Bauer's patent discloses “a grilling apparatus with a heating arrangement . . . [which] has a vertically a vertically arranged heating plane.” With the grill closed, the vertically arranged heating plane warms the entire interior, allowing for cooking food. However, with the grill hood open and the front wall swung open, the vertically arranged heating plane projects the heat towards the space in front of the grill, much like a traditional space heater. Another example is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 3,547,097 to Rice et al., entitled “Gas Infra-Red Burner Construction”. The burner construction has “ceramic plate material on one face . . . [with] a large number of small perforations throughout its thickness.” The ceramic plate is heated by a fuel-air mixture which moves through the perforations and burns at the surface of the plate. The heat from the ceramic plate emanates as infrared radiation, allowing for heating the air or grilling food, depending upon the angle at which the burner structure is angled. Unfortunately, both such structures are similarly only functional in one capacity at a time and lack true compact portability. In addition, while the drippings do not land on the heating elements, the grill portion is necessarily combined in the same space as the heater, posing a similar issue with odors at later points in time.
Some have designed heaters with exterior racks for cooking. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,139,879 to Bauer et al., entitled “Gas Burning Heaters”, illustrates a design similar to a camp stove which emits radiant energy and can be oriented to provide a rack across the top for supporting the object to be heated or cooked. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,326,265 to Paulin, entitled “Radiant Heating Means”, provides a heating design with a grill structure across the top. Paulin's radiant heating device has rotating braces which can be used to suspend the heating device, brace it at such an angle as to send the heat upward and outward throughout a space, or place the grid facing upward as necessary for cooking. This ideal structure would be difficult to adjust during use due to the temperature of the surfaces, making it difficult to transition from using it suspended or braced at an angle to using it for cooking.
Portable heaters with more focused heat which could be used for cooking are also illustrated in the prior art, including U.S. published patent application 2007/0269758 to Hofbauer et al., entitled “Radiant Burner”; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,513,822 to Korngold, entitled “Space Heaters”.
Heaters with racks that rotate into place are also illustrated in the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 3,085,350 to Waters, entitled “Portable Heater”, works with a portable heater and a rack structure, which allows for heating objects which can be draped over the bars, such as socks for warming or drying. U.S. Pat. No. 3,199,504 to Morin, Jr. et al, entitled “Dual Purpose Space Heater”, illustrates a wall-mounted space heater with a tray that flips open, allowing for a stand or tray to be placed directly under a heat vent, allowing for the warming of food or beverage. Unfortunately, the device is not transportable, limiting its application in outdoor activities.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,332,117 by Shepherd, entitled “Cooking grid or shelf”, is exemplary of racks that have been designed to be suspended from pans or other cooking utensils.
Each of the patents referenced herein above is expressly incorporated herein by reference for the teachings that they individually and collectively provide relevant to the present invention. Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary, Second Edition copyright 1983, is also incorporated herein by reference in entirety for the definitions of words and terms used herein.